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Glean new insights into special education from case studies and articles developed by our interdisciplinary team.

Shared Reading and Reading Out Loud: Benefits and Differences

Explore the differences between shared reading and reading out loud, including best practices for both.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Date: February 5, 2024

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Tar Heel Reader Joins Building Wings as Monarch Reader

Announcement by Dr Karen Erickson: Tar Heel Reader will be renamed Monarch Reader under Building Wings and will continue as a source of online accessible books.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Monarch Reader, Product Updates

Date: January 29, 2024

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The Benefits of Using Puppets in Early Childhood Classrooms

An early-childhood educator shares the moment she discovered the benefits of using puppets in early childhood classrooms

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, ReadtopiaGO

Date: January 17, 2024

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Five Benefits of a Consistent Literacy Instruction Framework

Five benefits of using a consistent literacy instruction framework within a school district, especially for students receiving special education services.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Readtopia, ReadtopiaGO

Date: December 4, 2023

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Bulletin Board Ideas for Teachers: They’re More Than Decoration

Bulletin board ideas for teachers including five ways bulletin boards can be used to showcase student work and literacy instruction.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Date: December 1, 2023

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Introducing Readtopia: Shorts–Mini Units Designed for Days, Not Weeks

Introducing Readtopia: Shorts, mini-reading instruction units for students with complex learning needs designed to be taught in 1-2+ weeks.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Product Updates, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: November 9, 2023

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Building Background Knowledge with World News for Students

How to build background knowledge with World News for students: Using Newstopia to connect your classroom to the world.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Date: October 25, 2023

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Inclusive Literacy Instruction: Koppenhaver Defines- For ALL

Defining what inclusive literacy instruction means and what it looks like. Excerpts from Dr. David Koppenhaver’s keynote at the Leading with Literacy Summit.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Curriculum, Reading Curriculum

Date: September 18, 2023

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Supporting Teachers and Students with Instructional Coaching

Strategies for supporting special educators with instructional coaching including external coaches with experience in research-based literacy instruction.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Learning Resources, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, ReadtopiaGO

Date:

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Student Choice: Opportunities for Student-Led Learning

Six ways to add opportunities for student choice and student-led learning for ALL learners.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Student choice, student-led learning

Date: August 2, 2023

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Readtopia Thematic Unit: Exploring Space – Neil deGrasse Tyson: Stargazer

Introducing a new Readtopia unit anchored in stories of space exploration as part of comprehensive literacy instruction.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Readtopia

Date: August 1, 2023

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Shared Reading Books: Recommendations from Dr. David Koppenhaver

A list of books recommended by Dr. David Koppenhaver for shared reading.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Learning Resources, Reading Curriculum

Date: July 16, 2023

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Words that Wow: Exposing Children to Rich Vocabulary

Vocabulary strategies for students receiving special education services. Benefits of being exposed to rich vocabulary words and playful literacy environments.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Learning Resources, ReadtopiaGO

Tags: rich vocabulary, vocabulary

Date: June 12, 2023

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Readtopia Thematic Unit: Social Justice: All Means All, anchored by Rolling Warrior

A leveled adaptation of Judith Heumann’s memoir anchors a Readtopia writing curriculum unit centered on disability rights.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: April 7, 2023

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Evidence of Impact of Comprehensive Literacy Instruction

Dr. Lisa Irwin-Davidson shares the initial results of her ongoing study on the impact of comprehensive literacy instruction.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Case Studies, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: March 31, 2023

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Repetition with Variety: An Element of Literacy Instruction

How and why to build a foundation of literacy learning for students with significant disabilities through repetition with variety.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Curriculum, Learning Resources, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, ReadtopiaGO

Date: March 6, 2023

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Be That Person

Hear a recording and read a summary of Dr. Karen Erickson’s keynote address, “Be That Person” from the 2022 Virtual Summer Summit.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Learning Resources, Motivation, On Demand Webinars, Reading Curriculum

Date: February 22, 2023

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The Science of Reading: What it is and What it is not

While the definition of the science of reading can be debated, there is a large body of research on effective literacy instruction.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Reading Curriculum

Date: January 20, 2023

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Presuming Competence: Perspectives in Learning Journeys

Lessons from the beach that illustrate the need to presume competence and honor individual learning styles.

Author Name: user

Categories: Articles, Motivation

Date: December 29, 2022

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Engaging Literacy Instruction for Learners with Complex Needs

What distinguishes one special education curriculum from another? Readtopia – what makes it different and why it matters.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Writing Curriculum

Date: December 21, 2022

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Readtopia Unit: Stronger Together Anchored in the Secret Gardener

Readtopia Thematic Unit: Stronger Together, anchored by The Secret Gardener Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel inspires a special education curricular unit rich in nature and history. Building Wings is excited to announce that a new thematic unit for upper elementary anchored in an adapted version of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is now […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Curriculum, Product Updates, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: December 15, 2022

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ReadtopiaGO Introduced to Special Educators

ReadtopiaGO Introduced to Special Educators Special Educators received an overview of the ReadtopiaGO early-literacy curriculum for learners with complex learning profiles at Closing The Gap 2022. For years, special educators have used Readtopia, a comprehensive literacy curriculum for learners with complex needs. While Readtopia provides an instructional foundation for learners in grades three through high […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, ReadtopiaGO

Date: November 28, 2022

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Building Wings Acquires Knowledge Unlimited

As part of a recent press release, Building Wings, Inc, announced the acquisition of Knowledge Unlimited, a provider of supplementary learning materials.

Author Name: user

Categories: Articles

Tags: Press Release

Date: November 9, 2022

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How to Whitelist an Email Address or Domain

Step-by-step instructions for how to whitelist an email address or domain so emails you want to receive are not blocked.

Author Name: user

Categories: Articles, Learning Is For Life

Tags: How to Whitelist an Email address, Whitelist Meaning, Whitelisting

Date: October 3, 2022

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10 Top Tips for New Special Education Teachers

Here are a few tips to help you manage your first time in the classroom as a new special education teacher.

Author Name: user

Categories: Articles

Date: September 6, 2022

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Readtopia Adds Differentiated Math Lessons to 25+ Thematic Units

We are thrilled to announce integrated math lessons for dozens of Readtopia’s thematic units!

Author Name: user

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Math, Product Updates, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: August 30, 2022

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Teacher Support for Readtopia: Thematic Unit Introduction Videos

Readtopia keeps getting better. The Readtopia development team is thrilled to announce a new curriculum component—thematic unit introduction videos. How do the introduction videos enhance Readtopia’s thematic units? What information do they cover? Continue reading to find out. Plus, take a sneak peek at the introduction video for the Westward Expansion thematic unit. What is […]

Author Name: user

Categories: Articles, Readtopia

Date: August 13, 2022

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Teacher Support for Readtopia: Thematic Unit Introduction Videos

How do the introduction videos enhance Readtopia’s thematic units? What information do they cover? Continue reading to find out.

Author Name: user

Categories: Articles

Date: August 12, 2022

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NASA Scientist Featured in New Readtopia Thematic Unit

Anchored by “Diana Trujillo: A Space Scientist”, Building Wings has launched a new Readtopia thematic unit called Making Dreams Come True.

Author Name: user

Categories: Articles

Date: July 28, 2022

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Press Release: Don Johnston’s Curriculum Division Forges New Company, Building Wings™

Don Johnston has formed a new company, Building Wings™ to expand its comprehensive literacy curriculum to focus on the needs of teachers working with students.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles, Sticky

Date: January 12, 2022

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Texthelp and Don Johnston Incorporated join forces

Two edtech giants are coming together to strengthen assistive technology for the world.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, First Author, Learning Is For Life

Date: January 10, 2022

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Press Release: Don Johnston Incorporated Joins Texthelp Group

The addition of Don Johnston Inc.’s leading product suite, expertise, and skill set will expand Texthelp’s leadership in helping individuals better understand.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date:

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Readtopia Thematic Unit—Fact or Fiction anchored by The Wizard of Oz brings inquiry to the special education classroom

Special education thematic unit Fact or Fiction anchored by The Wizard of Oz teaches students the difference between truth and make-believe.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Product Updates, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: November 12, 2021

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Negative Behaviors with Autism: Why it Happens and Eight Ways to Help

Negative Behaviors with Autism: Why it Happens and Eight Ways to Help Each school day, just before circle time, the kindergarten boy ran out into the hallway and pulled his classmate’s belongings out of their cubbies and onto the floor. His teacher tried everything she could think of to make it stop, but nothing worked. […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Learning Is For Life, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: October 4, 2021

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Engaging Special Ed Classrooms with Video: Mike Byrne’s Quest to Bring the World to Students

Engaging Special Ed Classrooms with Video: Mike Byrne’s Quest to Bring the World to Students The classroom lights dim. Students fall quiet as a strange and desolate terrain fills the screen. We’re in Iceland, our video host Don Johnston tells us, as we enter what appears to be a cave. “There’s only one place in […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: August 25, 2021

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Using Reflective and Tell Me Questions as a Part of Shared Reading Instruction

Using Reflective and Tell Me Questions as a Part of Shared Reading Instruction This article was originally published by Beth Poss at Lessonpix.com 2021. Shared Reading is much more than just a read aloud. This evidence-based strategy focuses on the interactions between adults and learners as they read with the purpose of building language and […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: August 16, 2021

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Building Communication through Literacy for Students with Intensive Disabilities—The inspiring story of Carter School

Building Communication through Literacy for Students with Intensive Disabilities—The inspiring story of Carter School “Meaningful, purposeful communication is at the heart of learning to read and write. Students who learn that they can use reading and writing to investigate areas of interest, share their ideas, thoughts, and feelings, or interact with new people, understand that […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Case Studies

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: May 14, 2021

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New Readtopia Thematic Unit— Mysteries and Mummies anchored by King Tut

Readtopia Thematic Unit— Mysteries and Mummies anchored by King Tut Readtopia® is on a roll. Thousands of special educators now have access to the just-released thematic unit expanding Readtopia to 25 units—each containing 6-8 weeks worth of instructional content. This new unit is one of the growing selection of upper elementary units, which make Readtopia […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Learning Is For Life, Product Updates, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: April 28, 2021

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Delivering Leveled Access to the Curriculum: Readtopia’s Laura Cuthbertson

Delivering Leveled Access to the Curriculum: Readtopia’s Laura Cuthbertson When Laura Cuthbertson was a little girl, she knew she wanted to be a teacher. But it wasn’t until she became close to a family member with complex needs that her path was made clear and she decided to pursue a job as a paraprofessional in […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: March 31, 2021

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Addressing the Most Diverse Learning Needs: Allison Dennis, Readtopia’s Differentiation Architect

Allison followed in her mother’s footsteps to become a special education teacher. She shares how she meets the most diverse learning needs using Readtopia.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: March 1, 2021

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Bringing Stories to Life: Jerry Stemach, Readtopia’s Chief Storyteller

Bringing Stories to Life: Jerry Stemach, Readtopia’s Chief Storyteller In our Readtopia author series, we profile members of the Readtopia team and share how their unique experiences and skills shape Readtopia’s instructional resources for special education and autism classrooms.When I first met Jerry Stemach, I instantly recognized that there’s something special and disarming about him. […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: February 5, 2021

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New Readtopia Thematic Unit — Bodies that Work

Readtopia Thematic Unit — Bodies that Work The Readtopia® Team is creating some very powerful content and resources for special needs classrooms. Thousands of special educators now have access to the just-released thematic unit for middle and high school classrooms. The theme, Bodies that Work will introduce students with complex needs to biology concepts (like […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Product Updates, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: December 2, 2020

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New Readtopia Thematic Unit — A Story of Survival anchored by The Swiss Family Robinson for Upper Elementary

Readtopia Thematic Unit — A Story of Survival anchored by The Swiss Family Robinson for Upper Elementary Readtopia® is on a roll. Thousands of special educators now have access to the just-released thematic unit for upper elementary students. The theme, A Story of Survival teaches students that there are always challenges in life. It takes […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: September 15, 2020

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Readtopia at Home: Supporting Students with Complex Needs

Readtopia at Home: Supporting Students with Complex Needs Thinking back to February 2020—it seems like an entirely different world. In a mere matter of weeks, COVID-19 has flipped the fabric of your day upside down. Your teaching has long since been uprooted, and now you’re left wondering what to do for your special education class. […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, eLearning, Learning Is For Life, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: April 10, 2020

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eLearning and Inequity—Why Districts are Turning to Accessible Technologies

eLearning and Inequity—Why Districts are Turning to Accessible Technologies eLearning came like a stranger in the night. Many educators walked out the door one day to find that school was canceled the next. Plants and even classroom pets were left in classrooms—like the stories of ancient villages who left so suddenly, their pots were still […]

Author Name: user

Categories: Articles

Tags: Assistive Technology, Co:Writer, eLearning, Google for Education, Learning Is For Life, Learning Tools, Unviersal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: April 7, 2020

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Comprehensive Literacy Instruction Without the DIY— How one special education teacher restored balance in her classroom and life

Comprehensive Literacy Instruction Without the DIY— How one special education teacher restored balance in her classroom and life When people ask me why I became a special education teacher, I tell them that I always knew I would be a teacher. I imagined teaching English in a general education setting. By the time I reached […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Case Studies

Tags: Curriculum, Learning Is For Life, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: February 5, 2020

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How I (Finally!) Challenged My Special Education Students

How I (Finally!) Challenged My Special Education Students As special education teachers, we hear a lot about changing expectations in our classrooms. About how we’re going to move students from one place to another throughout the school year. I feel I can speak for many teachers by saying that is a very difficult thing to […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Case Studies

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: November 11, 2019

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Strong Special Education Resources Showed What was Possible for my Students

Strong Special Education Resources Showed What was Possible for my Students Jeanmarie Jacoby was a special education classroom teacher for more than 30 years, and can attest that teaching reading to students with complex needs was one of the biggest struggles she faced. Feeling overwhelmed with trying to create materials for a wide range of […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Case Studies

Tags: Curriculum, Product Updates, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: October 18, 2019

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Re-Defining the Special Education Classroom at MacArthur Middle School

Re-Defining the Special Education Classroom at MacArthur Middle School Abbey Lynch walks over to a table and offers her hand to a smiling, eager student who takes it to point at her AAC device indicating the answer to a particular question. Lynch, a special education teacher at MacArthur Middle School in Prospect Heights, IL, just […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Case Studies

Tags: Curriculum, First Author, Learning Is For Life, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: September 5, 2019

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Social Emotional Learning Comes to Readtopia

Social Emotional Learning Comes to Readtopia Readtopia is on a roll filling a much-needed void in middle and high school special education classrooms. Our development team is pushing forward with new thematic units and features that give teachers the resources they need to do their best work ever! Summer brings new growth to Readtopia® with […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Product Updates, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: June 17, 2019

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Top 10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Special Education Reading Curriculum

Top 10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Special Education Reading Curriculum Your curriculum and the accompanying resources shape everything that happens in your special education classroom(s) for years to come, so making the right decision on curriculum may be the most important decision you make this year. What criteria will you use to evaluate […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: March 14, 2019

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The Teacher Who Chose to Stay: Laura Cuthbertson

The Teacher Who Chose to Stay: Laura Cuthbertson In the summer of 2017, Laura Cuthbertson had a chat with her husband. The subject was a familiar topic all couples cover from time to time: future work plans. As much as she loved her job and the kids in her self-contained classroom, Laura was a bit tired of […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Articles

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: January 10, 2019

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Making Reading Meaningful — A Teacher’s Journey

Making Reading Meaningful — A Teacher’s Journey Special Educator, Carrie Ponitz, didn’t choose Readtopia. Her administrators brought it into the district, but Mrs. Ponitz quickly embraced the materials when she saw how quickly her students connected to the content. Reading time used to be filled with groans, now her students are even excited to take […]

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Case Studies

Tags: Reading Curriculum, Readtopia

Date: December 7, 2018

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I’ll See it When I Believe It

I’ll See it When I Believe It As a student growing up with dyslexia in the 1950s, most people had very little hope for me. Not much was known about dyslexia back then other than what people saw. What they saw was a troublemaker who couldn’t read. I heard that I was just lazy. I’m […]

Author Name: user

Categories: Articles

Tags: Dyslexia & Dysgraphia, Learning Is For Life, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: May 2, 2016

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How I Connect the Dots Between Life Skills and Curriculum Content

Not without challenges, Special Education Teacher Erlind Laci connected the dots between Life Skills and Curriculum Content at Kirk School, and here’s how.

Author Name: Building Wings

Categories: Case Studies

Tags: Curriculum, Reading Curriculum, Readtopia, Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Date: December 19, 2010

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Karen A. Erickson, Ph.D.​

Karen A. Erickson, Ph.D. is Director of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill. Her focus is on understanding the best ways to assess and teach reading and writing to children with the most severe disabilities. As a special education teacher, Dr. Erickson has worked to support students with a range of disabilities in a variety of classroom settings, particularly students who do not use speech as their primary means of communication.

Website: https://www.med.unc.edu/ahs/clds

Author Profile: https://products.brookespublishing.com/cw_Contributorinfo.aspx?ContribID=110&Name=Karen+Erickson,Ph.D.

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